/ Marketing

Reviving its direct-to-consumer division, Gander Mountain is launching GanderMtn.com with online community features to address the growing interest of outdoor sports enthusiasts in sharing their exploits online.

/ Marketing

Rugby.com, until now a brochure site, joins RalphLauren.com as Ralph Lauren Media LLC’s second e-commerce site. Rugby stores will mark the debut of the Web 2.0-powered site with touch-screen windows for street-side e-commerce.

Founded in 1872 as the first retail mail-order catalog, the Montgomery Ward brand will re-emerge this month as a retail e-commerce site operated by its new parent, The Swiss Colony Inc. Swiss Colony acquired the Charles Keath and HomeVisions brands as well as Montgomery Ward from Direct Marketing Services Inc. It plans print catalogs as well as e-commerce sites.

Travelers in airports can now purchase a $500 digital camera or a number of other consumer electronics items to take on the plane from web-enabled kiosks branded by Best Buy. The retailer is testing 12 self-service Best Buy Express kiosks from ZoomSystems at several airports.

/ Marketing

A floral shop on a BlackBerry—it’s a concept that rings true for 1-800-Flowers.com, a pioneer of both telephone and Internet retailing. Using mobile commerce technology from Digby, the retailer has developed the Mobile Gift Center, a software application that resides on a shopper’s BlackBerry web-connected smartphone.

Big-screen TV shoppers struggling with technical jargon while shopping on CircuitCity.com can get the advice of friends and other consumers through new social networking tools and product ratings. Shoppers can also connect online with the retailer’s product specialists.

To serve the busy back-to-school season, J.C. Penney offering a new mini-site—JCP.com/getthatlook—as part of an integrated marketing campaign that will span Penney’s e-commerce sites, TV ads and online shopping network Kaboodle.com. “We’re able to bring our lifestyle brands to life in a way that resonates with both teens and parents,” chief marketing office Mike Boylson says.

/ Technology

Last month’s report from the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed once again that online sales are growing faster than offline sales. But the disparity in growth between online and offline is greater when gasoline and food sales are subtracted from the Commerce Department’s numbers.